Re: Warranty refused : broken USB port

Update: Lenovo will not escalate me request and is sending back the useless, broken device. However, the pure amount of thi issue is enough for me to know that I have right for warranty. Wednesday I will give further update on what the lawyer had to say. I hope the rest has better luck with their devices.

Re: Warranty refused : broken USB port

This is such a shame. I don't know what lenovo is thinking people do to these usb ports. I mean we totally violate them with screwdrivers, swing the tpt around our heads by the cords, etc. Refusing people warranty rights is only going to hurt you in the end Lenovo.

Re: Warranty refused : broken USB port

My USB port also disconnected internally. I sent it to Lenovo and they told me that the damage was my fault, and it would cost ~$700 to repair. This is ridiculous, as I've only ever plugged the micro-USB cable in as I would any other device, and it just sits on my nightstand without being moved or yanked in any way. I own numerous other tablets and smartphones, and no other micro-USB adapter has disconnected itself internally like this.Furthermore, this is after about one month of light usage.

The customer support representative is going to ask his supervisor if anything can be done, but the fact that Lenovo isn't taking responsibility for this manufacturing defect is very worrying, as is the possibility that I'll be on the line for $700 due to Lenovo's mistake.

Re: Warranty refused : broken USB port

Thanks for looking into this Mark / not sure if you informed them of an issue. Got a call from tech support today saying they're doing a "one-time replacement" without acknowledging any reasons for why it broke but I'll take what I can get at this point.

Mark_Lenovo wrote:

All,

We are looking into this and would like to get some of these sent to our engineering. We can help with the repairs.

Re: Warranty refused : broken USB port

I'm only on this board because I have been looking for a tablet to replace my Touchpad with something a bit more umm useful. The Lenovo TPT has been high on the list of contenders because of the digitizing stylus.

Keeping up with this thread has left me with this impression: Some people are receiving TPTs with obviously defective USB ports. Quite a few just that have been reported here. But, shtuff happens so it's not so much whether stuff happens but how the vendor handles it when it does.

In the case of the USB port, what I would hope to see happen is that each person who has this problem would call their Lenovo support contact and be greeted, by the first Lenovo person they talk to, with "we are very sorry! We will fix that for you right away." And then it would get fixed quickly and returned to the customer quickly. I.e. free Overnight shipping both ways with at most a 2 - 3 day turnaround on the repair. Ideally, standard practice on something this new would be to replace it with a new one immediately, and persons with exceptional needs for not being without their TPT would even get a new one sent to them so they have it before they relinquish the old one.

Instead, it seems that the majority of people with this problem are being treated like ham-handed idiots, guilty until proven innocent. They are only getting their TPT fixed under warranty by making a big fuss and fighting a battle up the chain.

As an IT professional, I don't have time to deal with a vendor that I have to fight like that - especially over a simple and obvious defect. What's it going to be like if the touch screen itself goes out 3 months of ownership? If an obviously defective USB port is this hard to get fixed, how likely is it that a defective touch screen would get fixed under warranty?

As a tech consumer, I don't have the desire to deal with a vendor that I have to fight like that. At some point, it becomes an issue of principle and I choose to deal with vendors who do the right thing without making me fight a battle up the chain of command (or go find an Internet forum where I can get "insider" help).

So, sadly, the TPT is no longer on my list of options for my next tablet purchase. Fortunately, there are other Android tablets with digitizing stylii on the market.

Re: Warranty refused : broken USB port

I previously reported that Lenovo support was trying to charge me $700 for the repair, but I was waiting on a reply from the representative about escalating the issue. The representative let me know that my tablet is going to be repaired without cost to me, and they're aware of a potentially ongoing issue with the micro-USB ports on the ThinkPad Tablets. As he explained it, they were getting a small number of tablets with that problem and similar stories, and they now had received a sufficient volume to start addressing the issue without claiming it was due to customer misuse. He was quite helpful, and was regretful that he had had to tell me it would cost $700 to repair (as per his previous instructions from Lenovo).

Re: Warranty refused : broken USB port

Have you gotten your TPT back yet? I got that call earier this week and haven't received anything yet...

184_lenovo_user wrote:

I previously reported that Lenovo support was trying to charge me $700 for the repair, but I was waiting on a reply from the representative about escalating the issue. The representative let me know that my tablet is going to be repaired without cost to me, and they're aware of a potentially ongoing issue with the micro-USB ports on the ThinkPad Tablets. As he explained it, they were getting a small number of tablets with that problem and similar stories, and they now had received a sufficient volume to start addressing the issue without claiming it was due to customer misuse. He was quite helpful, and was regretful that he had had to tell me it would cost $700 to repair (as per his previous instructions from Lenovo).

Re: Warranty refused : broken USB port

184_lenovo_user wrote:As he explained it, they were getting a small number of tablets with that problem and similar stories, and they now had received a sufficient volume to start addressing the issue without claiming it was due to customer misuse. He was quite helpful, and was regretful that he had had to tell me it would cost $700 to repair (as per his previous instructions from Lenovo).

This is very good news indeed if it can be propogated to all service centres. I really suspect there is a design issue or a poorly specced part.